Sunday, February 25, 2018

Be a Good Model

Your body
might tell you that you are what you eat, but your brain will tell you that you
are what you experience.

The baby in this
clip is a good example of the brain seeking to model what it experiences. Eventually, assuming the baby does not experience other humans routinely howling, he
will stop mimicking dogs in favor of following the actions of family members. His brain
creates a temporary “howling” neural connection that is later re-purposed for
something more useful.

This clip
reminds us as parents to occasionally take time to examine what our children
see in us each day that they might be creating neural connections for. What
children see and experience is what their brain will prioritize for learning.

Do our
children see us making healthy food choices or sneaking snacks?

Do they see
us physically active or on our phone?

Do they see
us coping with sadness and anger or allowing ourselves to vent?

Do they see
us learning from mistakes or hiding them?

Do they see
us complaining or working to make things better?

Do they see
us including faith in every aspect of our lives, or saving it for Sundays?

We do not
need to be perfect parents. Our children learn good things from us when we make
mistakes, apologize, and try again. In fact, sometimes the most enduring lesson
is learned when a parent makes a mistake and seeks to learn from the mistake.
In this action you are teaching resilience.

The best
things to model for your children are acts of faith: mercy, forgiveness, worship,
the seeking of God’s word, and unconditional love.

Therefore be
self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep
loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show
hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it
to serve on another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. I Peter 4: 7b-10a.